FAITH2ACTION

Stand up and fight – the time is now

Janet Porter is president of Faith2Action*: turning people of faith into people of action to WIN the cultural war TOGETHER for life, liberty and the family. Author of "The Criminalization of Christianity," she hosts a daily radio program from 2-3 p.m. Eastern and a daily radio commentary heard in 224 markets and at www.f2a.org.
* Title and affiliation for identification purposes only.

Every day we lose more of our lives, our liberties and our property. At what point do we stand up and fight?

Every week there is another hostile takeover of a bank and a business. CEOs fired, auto-company budgets cut while Obama adds trillions in debt to the budget for the rest of us. A “cap and tax” limit on what we can do while arbitrarily taxing us at the same time. They are even mandating what kind of cars we can drive. Obama’s power grab is devouring everything in his path.

Are we going to sit back until Newsweek’s cover reads “We are all Communists Now”?

Let me tell you a story I just read in 1 Samuel 13 and 14 that I believe is more fitting than even David and Goliath. That’s because we have more than one giant to face.

Jonathan is a guy not a lot of people write about. King Saul’s son and David’s bosom buddy. But he was more than that.

The Israelites were under the control of the Philistines. They occupied the land and had the power. And much like the gun-control lobby, they wanted to be sure nobody had a way to defend themselves:

There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews. So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, picks, axes or sickles, they had to take them to a Philistine blacksmith.

– 1 Samuel 13:19

No Second Amendment. Just government control.

So on the day of the battle none of the people of Israel had a sword or spear, except for Saul and Jonathan.

– 1 Samuel 13:22

Only two guys in the whole army had weapons. Nice. They were completely surrounded by the Philistine army. Some Israelites fled. Others hid, and still others joined the ranks of the enemy.

That’s when Jonathan gets the idea to take them on. He had the right perspective and convinced his armor bearer to join him:

Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!

– 1 Samuel 14:6

First he let his enemy see him. Then, he looked for the Lord’s sign for the Philistines to call him over to do battle and they got it. With the words, “… the Lord will help us defeat them!” Jonathan and his armor bearer went over to the enemy camp and took out 20 men.

They won one battle and then:

Suddenly panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified.

– 1 Samuel 14:15

They stepped out, and God stepped in with an earthquake at just the right time. Not a bad precedent, the way I see it. By the time the rest of the Israelites joined in, the Philistines were: “… killing each other. There was terrible confusion everywhere.”

Even the Hebrews who had previously gone over to the Philistine army revolted and joined in with Saul, Jonathan and the rest of the Israelites. Likewise, the men of Israel who were hiding in the hill country of Ephraim joined the chase when they saw the Philistines running away. So the Lord saved Israel that day.

– 1 Samuel 14:21-23

We’re surrounded. Since handing over power, we are largely unarmed. Like Jonathan, I say, “So what?” Let’s pick a battle and “perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!” The battle I’d pick? Freedom.

Right now the Senate has a bill that would jail pastors and protect pedophiles. This thing not only criminalizes speech against the homosexual agenda, S. 909, was dubbed the “Pedophile Protection Act” because the House rejected an amendment that would have excluded child molesters from receiving elevated protection along with others on a list of 547 sexual perversions.

It’s an issue we can win. They are so extreme on this one that even their own base won’t support them. How would you like to run as the candidate that supported the “Pedophile Protection Act”? That’s not going to play well at home. And they know it.

So what if we’re surrounded? So what if they have control? So what if they have a president who is chomping at the bit to sign this thing? I say we strike and strike now. Nearly half a million Fed Ex’s have already been sent to the Senate asking for a filibuster. Send them another.

If there was ever a time for Republicans to lead it is now. If they stand up against this, it will make every other battle we face easier. This is their weakest point. This is where we must strike and convince them to have the courage to filibuster before a corrupted election sends a comedian to Congress.

What if angry moms who don’t want pedophiles protected called the Senate (202-225-3121) with the message: “Hey, buster, you better filibuster!” Don’t mess with moms. What if pastors around the country stood up in the pulpits like Paul Blair and Rick Scarborough and defended their right to read from Romans? I don’t care that Obama says that New Testament book of the Bible is “obscure” – we will not let his tyrannical power grab reach into the pulpits and touch the word of God.

We must use our freedoms now while we still have them. Put down the white flag and stand up against evil now. Stop the Pedophile Protection Act with the last tool in our arsenal – the filibuster. Stand and fight – for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few.